Osoyoos Town Council recently agreed to sign an agreement with the Fraser Basin Council that will allow the Sonora Centre to install digital controls. (File photo)
By Vanessa Broadbent
Osoyoos Times
A grant from the Fraser Basin Council, a non-profit organization that works to advance sustainability in B.C., will help the Sonora Community Centre offset the costs of installing direct digital controls.
At last week’s meeting, Town Council agreed to sign an agreement with the Fraser Basin Council to receive the funds, totaling $24,750, and granted to Osoyoos’ Community Services Department.
In 2018 Council agreed to install the direct digital controls at the centre for a cost of $70,000, assistant director of community services Sarah Dynneson said in a report to Council.
“These controls are intended to offset energy costs and help us meet the standards of greenhouse gas reduction as part of the climate action plan,” the report read.
The controls will allow lighting and heating levels in the Sonora Centre to automatically change based on occupancy of the building, as well as be controlled by timers.
“Basically we can set them that if we know a program is going to be happening at 5 o’clock, heat doesn’t turn on until quarter to five, lights don’t turn on until that time, and then they turn off automatically so we’re not wasting energy lighting or heating the building when it doesn’t need to be,” Dynneson told Council.
The project is calculated to offset 402GJ of energy annually, as well as 6.5 tonnes of CO2e, aligning with the Town’s corporate greenhouse gas inventory plan that aims to reduce greenhouse gases by 10 per cent by 2020.
Mayor Sue McKortoff said in light of recent reports that Canada is failing to slow oil and gas emissions, the project is a move in the right direction.
“Canada is falling behind in terms of climate action and greenhouse gas emissions so this has to be positive.”
Councillor Jim King also shared his support for the agreement.
“Any time you can bring outside money to the table that’s a plus.”
The remaining funds are identified in the Town’s 2018 budget and the project will be tendered by February and is expected to be completed by June.
